Grant Hill and Daniel Kennedy at Tribeca Film Festival
THE BUZZ: On Friday, April 23rd, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of “Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler Story” at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The feature documentary was written by John Larson, directed by Amy E. Unella and executive produced by Ann Rubenstein Tisch and NBA player Grant Hill. Hill was at the screening with his wife R&B/soul singer Tamia and his father Calvin Hill, a three-time All-Pro running back for the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys. I didn’t realize that Grant Hill came from such Ivy stock – his father is a graduate of Yale and his mother went to my alma mater, Wellesley College.
I was very impressed by the film and my teenage nephew also enjoyed it. The film portrays Al Buehler, a former track coach at Duke University. Hill, who attended Duke from 1990 to 1994, first met Buehler as a student in his “History & Issues of Sports” class. You probably never heard of the coach – I hadn’t. However, he touched and enriched the lives of thousands of athletes including Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Carl Lewis, as well as Duke icons Grant Hill, Shane Battier, and Coach K.
Buehler coached for half a century and broke new ground in women’s athletics, international sport and race relations. During the height of segregation in the South, Buehler formed a lasting friendship with Dr. LeRoy Walker (whom my mom knew), the Head Track Coach at the all black North Carolina Central University. Buehler’s career spanned four Olympics, but he never let his success get in the way of his deep desire to help athletes become better people.
The film is rich with inspiration and history. I highly recommend taking a peak at the trailer. Go to the film’s website and check it out!
